List of buildings of pre-Mongol Rus'
The architecture of Kievan Rus' is the earliest period of Belarusian, Russian, and Ukrainian architecture. It developed on the foundations of Byzantine culture with use of local innovations and architectural features, with Kiev and Novgorod as its principal centers. Although wooden architecture was widespread in the Kievan Rus', none of it has survived; all surviving buildings are constructed of stone or brick. Most of these buildings are churches, with only four secular buildings surviving from the period.
The vast majority of buildings was destroyed over the centuries, with most extensive losses occurring during the Mongol invasion of the 1230s. Those that survived were significantly modified over time and lost some essential features of the Kievan Rus' architecture. Several monuments were destroyed in the 20th century and later reconstructed incorporating remains of the original structure; such buildings are included in the list. Buildings that were destroyed but retain significant visible remains are presented in a separate section. In contrast, buildings that were destroyed and subsequently rebuilt without attempts at scientific reconstruction (e.g., the Dormition Church of Virgin Pirogoshcha and the Saint Michael Cathedral of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv) are excluded.
List
| Name | Photo | Location[a] | Land[b] | Construction date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfiguration Cathedral | Chernihiv, Ukraine | Chernigov | Before 1036[1] | One of the two oldest surviving buildings of the Kievan Rus'.[1] The exterior was considerably modified in the 17th and 18th centuries. | |
| Cathedral of Saint Boris and Saint Gleb | 1097–1123 | ||||
| Dormition Cathedral of Yeletskyi Monastery | Early 12th century | Exterior was considerably altered. | |||
| St. Elijah Church | Early 12th century | Exterior was considerably altered. | |||
| Piatnytska Church | Early 13th century | Considerably damaged during World War II, subsequently restored. | |||
| Saint Pantaleon Church | Shevchenkove, Ukraine | Galicia | c. 1200 | Rebuilt in 1611 with considerable modifications, restored in 1998. The only surviving building of the Galician school of architecture. | |
| Saint Boris and Saint Gleb Kalozha Church | Grodno, Belarus | Grodno | Before 1183 | Partially survived, some walls were lost. | |
| Saint George's Cathedral | Kaniv, Ukraine | Kiev | 1144 | Only the walls. | |
| Saint Sophia Cathedral | Kyiv, Ukraine | 1017–1022 or before 1037[1] | One of the two oldest surviving buildings of the Kievan Rus'.[1] The exterior was considerably modified in the 17th and 18th centuries. | ||
| Golden Gate | 1037 | By 1982, the gate was a ruin, and, with the exception of the lowest parts of the walls, it was reconstructed in 1982. | |||
| Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra | 1073–1089 | Destroyed in 1941, reconstructed in 2000. The exterior was considerably altered in the 18th century. | |||
| Trinity Church of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra | c. 1106 | The exterior was considerably altered in the 18th century. | |||
| Saint Michael Church of the Vydubychi Monastery | 1070–1088 | Only the western side. | |||
| Church of the Saviour at Berestove | Early 11th century | Only the western side. | |||
| St. Cyrils' Church of the St. Cyril's Monastery | 1140–1146 | Exterior was strongly altered. | |||
| Saint Basil Church | Ovruch, Ukraine | c. 1190 | Collapsed in 1846, restored in 1907–09. | ||
| Katholikon of the Ivanovsky Monastery | Pskov, Russia | Novgorod | 1140s or earlier | ||
| Katholikon of the Mirozhsky Monastery | Before 1156 | The exterior was altered, the frescoes are intact | |||
| Katholikon of the Dormition Monastery | Staraya Ladoga, Russia | 1160s | |||
| St. George's Church | c. 1165 | ||||
| Katholikon of the Transfiguration Monastery | Staraya Russa, Russia | 1198 | Completely rebuilt in the 1442, only the lowest parts of the walls survived. Rebuilt again in the 17th century. | ||
| Cathedral of Saint Sophia | Veliky Novgorod, Russia | 1045–1052 | The oldest surviving building in Northern Russia. | ||
| Saint Nicholas Cathedral at Yaroslav's Court | 1113–1136 | ||||
| Katholikon of the Antoniev Monastery | 1117–1122 | The upper parts were altered. | |||
| Katholikon of the Yuriev Monastery | 1119–1130 | ||||
| Arkazhi Church | 1179 | Substantially rebuilt in the 17th century. | |||
| Sts. Peter and Paul Church | 1192 | ||||
| Nereditsa Church | 1198 | Destroyed during the World War II, subsequently restored, but the original frescoes have been lost. | |||
| Church of St. Paraskevi of Iconium | 1207 | The vaults rebuilt at a later date. | |||
| Peryn Chapel | 1220s | ||||
| Saint Michael Church | Oster, Ukraine | Pereyaslavl | c. 1098 | Destroyed, only the apse survived. | |
| Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk | Polotsk, Belarus | Polotsk | 1044–1066 | Only fragments of the original cathedral survived. | |
| Transfiguration Church of the Saint Euphrosyne Monastery | 1128-1156 | ||||
| Annunciation Church | Vitebsk, Belarus | 12th century | Destroyed in 1961, rebuilt in 1993–1998 incorporating the remains of the walls. | ||
| Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul on Gorodyanka | Smolensk, Russia | Smolensk | 1146 | Restored in 1963 | |
| Church of Saint John the Evangelist | 1146 | Only walls survived, everything else was rebuilt in the 18th century. | |||
| Saint Michael Church | 1180–1197 | The roof was altered. | |||
| Andrey Bogolyubsky Palace | Bogolyubovo, Russia | Vladimir-Suzdal | 1158 | Only fragments, including a tower, survived. | |
| Church of the Intercession on the Nerl | 1165-1166 | ||||
| Church of Boris and Gleb | Kideksha, Russia | 1152 | The top part was rebuilt in the 17th century. | ||
| Transfiguration Cathedral | Pereslavl-Zalessky, Russia | 1152–1157 | |||
| Nativity Cathedral | Suzdal, Russia | 1222–1225 | The exterior and the roof have been rebuilt. | ||
| Dormition Cathedral | Vladimir, Russia | 1158–1160 | Expanded in 1185–1189 | ||
| Golden Gate | 1158–1164 | Considerably altered by later construction. | |||
| Cathedral of Saint Demetrius | 1191 or 1194–1197 | ||||
| Dormition Cathedral of the Knyaginin Monastery | 1200–1202 | Completely rebuilt around 1500, only lower parts of the walls survive. | |||
| Saint George Cathedral | Yuryev-Polsky, Russia | 1230–1234[2] | The cathedral collapsed in the 1460s and was repaired in a different form.[2] | ||
| Dormition Church | Dorohobuzh, Ukraine | Volhynia | c. 12th century | Rebuilt in 16th century, incorporating parts of the original walls. | |
| Stołpie Tower | Stołpie, Poland | 12th–13th centuries | Partially ruined | ||
| Dormition Cathedral | Volodymyr, Ukraine | 1160 | Collapsed in 1829, rebuilt in 1896–1900. |
Remains
This section presents pre-Mongol Rus' buildings that were partially destroyed and have significant surviving visible remains but were not rebuilt.
| Name | Photo | Location[a] | Land[b] | Construction date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dormition Cathedral | Krylos, Ukraine | Galicia | Before 1187 | Parts of the wall and foundations were used to construct a chapel (15th century) and a church (16th century) above the remains. | |
| Stone wall | Grodno, Belarus | Grodno | 12th century | ||
| Lower church | Late 12th century | ||||
| Palace | Late 12th century | ||||
| Tomb church | Pereiaslav, Ukraine | Pereyaslavl | 11th century | ||
| St. Michael's Church | 1089 | ||||
| Church | Turov, Belarus | Turov | 12th century | ||
| St. John the Evangelist Church | Lutsk, Ukraine | Volhynia | 12th century |
Notes
References
Notes
Sources
- Раппопорт, П. А. (1982). Русская архитектура X — XIII вв. Каталог памятников. Saint Petersburg: Наука. Retrieved February 26, 2012.